Jack Kemp Dies at 73 After Success in Football and Politics

Jack Kemp was a pioneer for sports stars who went into politics, as Kemp went from the football gridiron to the Congressional one. Not only was Jack Kemp a longtime member of Congress, he was close to becoming the Vice President as well. Though the current trend is for actors to get into politics, Jack Kemp helped set the bar for ex-sports stars to do it first. Therefore, he is mourned in two communities today, after Jack Kemp was pronounced dead last night at age 73.

Kemp was diagnosed with cancer to begin 2009, and declined fairly quickly after that. He died in his home at Bethesda, Maryland, according to reports.

When people first heard of Jack Kemp, he was the leader of the Buffalo Bills when they were first born in the AFL. Leading the way at quarterback, Kemp took the Bills to two AFL championships, back when they could go to championship games and win them. But his playing days ended after the 60's, and other AFL quarterbacks like Joe Namath and Len Dawson often overshadowed him.

However, Kemp proved that he was ahead of his time, by going from an entertainment industry to Washington before it became trendy. He got himself into the House of Representatives from Buffalo, and was in Congress from 1971 to 1989, until becoming Housing Secretary under the first Bush administration.

Kemp even got himself on Bob Dole's ticket for President in 1996, in a surprise choice. Kemp had previously tried and failed to run for President in 1988.

For all the jokes over celebrities, athletes or actors eventually becoming President, Kemp was the closest one of those people to come to getting there, besides Ronald Reagan. But the Dole campaign barely stood a chance against Bill Clinton, so there wasn't much worry.

Other former athletes like Steve Largent and Heath Shuler have gotten into Congress and had a second career there. But Kemp was by far the biggest name to do it, and had the biggest impact on a national stage.

Kemp also championed inclusion into the Republican party for more minorities and ethnicities, serving as one of the symbols for "big tent" Republicanism - a species that many have argued already died out well before Kemp. He helped offset that by advocating the traditional Republican talking points of tax cuts.

The exact type of cancer that claimed Kemp was not announced.

Sources

Los Angeles Times- "Jack Kemp, an original pillar in Republican 'big tent' dies at 73" www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jack-kemp3-2009may03,0,4950829.story

The Swamp- "Jack Kemp: 'Bleeding heart conservative'" www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/05/jack_kemp_bleedingheart_conser.html

FOX Forum- "Remembering Jack Kemp" foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/05/03/remembering-jack-kemp/